WASHINGTON STATE FERRY SYSTEM GETS IT RIGHT?

Washington state ferries. Gotta love 'em.  They provided the local NBC news affiliate with quite a bit of fodder for hard,investigative news.  A real target rich environment full of wasteful spending, poor customer service, and questionable safe practices (max capacity on the ferry? 2000 people.  Max capacity of the life rafts?  600).  But they are fully compliant with Federal safety rules -- modified specifically for the ferry system's lack of life rafts.

This is the same system that spends the better part of a million dollars a year on a small ferry that wasn't used once in 2013.

Then the Handford nuclear waste whistleblowers came to light and King 5 dropped the Washington state ferry system like a hot radioactive potato. Bigger fish to fry (waste, coverups, and possible radioactive contamination at the federal level is so Pulitzer).

i digress.

By fleet size, it is the largest ferry system in the US, and the 3rd largest in the world.  The system has its roots in the 'mosquito fleet' that operated up and down (but mostly across) the sound in the early 1900's.

But recently the Washington State Ferry system came up with the biggest step in health care in recent years.  That single advancement was a huge stress reliever and likely extended the years of many island residents.

Up until now arriving at the toll booth carried great uncertainty. Anxiety.  Angst.  Especially on Fridays headed to the island.  Sometimes it felt that EVERYONE on northbound I5 was a potential competitor headed for the ferry.  And if traffic slowed your progress, the blood pressure would rise as the minutes ticked by.  Would I make the ferry?  Mental calculations would begin - cleared Everett, 1 hour between Everett and the terminal.  It's 3 pm now, ferry leaves at 4:15.  Cutting it close.  Will I make it?  Foot on the accelerator, blood pressure rises.

That's how it used to be.  But there's an app for that.  It's actually on the Washington State Dept of Transportation (WSDOT) web site.  It shows the 'places left' for each sailing.  It's color coded (green, yellow, red) and you can tell how the que is going.

Take my recent trip up.  I'm going through Mt Vernon and the gas tank is just below half.  Do I fill up or not.  I'm cutting it a little close, on track to arrive 25 minutes before the ferry departs.  At this point, I'm 30 minutes away and there's 85 places left on the ferry.  Cool.  Stop for gas and fill the car up.

By the time I get to the toll both, there's quite a line. There are, perhaps 15 cars in front of me and we're not moving.  But I know there are 50 places left despite the crowd.  No worries, blood pressure remains low -- I know I'm on the ferry despite the wait.

By the time I get down into the terminal and qued up for the ferry, there are 30 places left and when we depart we're almost, but not quite loaded to capacity.

The 'places left' system takes most of the worry and anxiety out of the trip.  Of course you wonder why there's anxiety in the first place on simply making the ferry, but that sounds more like a personal problem (mine).